ISS Flexes Robotic Arm Remotely

After months of tests, flight controllers on Earth took control of the International Space Station's (ISS) robotic arm Thursday for routine scans of the orbital laboratory's exterior.

ISS robotics flight controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas performed a series of meticulously planned maneuvers, in five-foot increments, to provide video coverage of key station elements.

While it may sound like a small feat, the maneuver marks the first non-test use of remote-controlled arm operations after months of tests between Earth-based robotics handlers and the space station orbiting 220 miles above Earth.

"It allows us to more efficiently use the on-orbit crew for the more intensive arm operations," Sarmad Aziz, an ISS robotics flight controller at JSC, told SPACE.com of the maneuver. "Our job [was] to just position the arm and use the cameras to survey a few points of interest on the space station."

ISS Expedition 12 commander Bill McArthur last worked with the station's arm Wednesday, when he used it to test new ungrappling procedures.

"We benefited greatly from doing the on-orbit tests," Aziz said.

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